REHAB PIONEER, ENERGETIC DAD
Dana Borcea
Hamilton Spectator
March 25 2008
Canada
Dr. John Basmajian did a good chunk of his groundbreaking work in
rehabilitative science from the comfort of his living room couch.
Working at home gave the father of three a chance to combine his twin
passions for medicine and his family.
His daughter Nancy recalled her father’s "immense powers of
concentration" and marvelled at his ability to focus on writing his
books and lectures within feet of his children banging on the piano.
"He could work through anything," she said.
The hard-working father and former head of the Chedoke Rehabilitation
Centre died last Tuesday after a brief illness.
He was 86.
Basmajian was born in present-day Istanbul to Armenian parents and
raised in Brantford.
He graduated from medical school at the University of Toronto in
1945. In the decades that followed, his work as a doctor, researcher
and professor saw him and his family put down roots in Toronto,
Kingston, Ont., and Atlanta.
In 1977, he moved to Hamilton and assumed the role of director of
the Chedoke Rehabilitation Centre as well as professor of medicine
and anatomy at McMaster University.
Basmajian was best known for his pioneering work in electromyography,
the study of electrical discharge from muscles, and later
biofeedback. He was honoured for his research in 1995 when he was
named to the Order of Canada.
Basmajian spoke about the significance of his work in an interview
with The Spectator after the announcement.
"I started working on muscle in the days of polio and afterwards,
when it was licked, people asked me why I continued. I was able to
discover some things that became important later on," he said.
His work on how muscle could be trained to recover translated into
significant progress in the world of rehabilitative science. He also
developed new technologies and invented devices, including electrodes
used to measure electrical discharge from muscle fibres.
Outside of the labs and clinics, Basmajian kept himself busy with
writing and was considered a bestseller in the world of medical
textbooks. His books on anatomy and electromyography sold well over
one million copies.
But at least as important was the legacy he left as a teacher and
mentor.
His son Haig, a Cobourg-based surgeon, figured his father trained
more than 1,000 Canadian doctors, many of whom remembered him vividly
years after leaving his class.
"He managed to inject enthusiasm into his lectures on anatomy, which
is not always the most exciting subject," his son said.
Former pupils often remember Basmajian — who was ambidextrous —
at his blackboard drawing diagrams with one hand while labelling them
with the other.
Haig remembered his father taking calls at home from students with
questions and remembering their names years later.
"I didn’t have a lot of professors like that when I was in medical
school," he said.
Basmajian’s wife of 60 years, Dora, said she appreciated her husband’s
generosity with others.
"He made time for everyone but I didn’t mind sharing him," she said.
"He had so much energy, I couldn’t have handled it all alone."